Zodiac

By Mal -

6 out of 10

Interesting, well-told and well-acted, Zodiac held my attention throughout its long running time, but failed to ever excite me. Following the story of a newspaper cartoonist, a journalist and a cop on the case of a serial killer (the eponymous Zodiac), the film maintains a slow but steady pace right up to its anti-climactic conclusion.

Of the cast, Jake Gyllenhaal, playing the put-upon cartoonist, was as good as ever, but perhaps a little typecast. Robert Downey Jr, as the journo, was, however, disappointing; almost identical to his character in A Scanner Darkly. I hope he’s not always like this; it’s a pity when you find out that actors were just playing themselves all along. Mark Ruffalo, however, was the best thing in the film, brilliantly playing the detective with a hint of Columbo about him and I look forward to seeing more of his films.

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